This application relates to a cleaning implement useful for removing soils from hard surfaces. The application particularly relates to a cleaning implement comprising a handle and a removable absorbent cleaning pad. The cleaning pad exhibits the ability to absorb and retain significant fluid levels.
The literature is replete with products capable of cleaning hard surfaces such as ceramic tile floors, hardwood floors, counter tops and the like. In the context of cleaning floors, numerous devices are described comprising a handle and some means for absorbing a fluid cleaning composition. Such devices include those those that are reusable, including mops containing cotton strings, cellulose and/or synthetic strips, absorbent foams and the like. While these mops are successful in removing many soils from hard surfaces, they typically require the inconvenience of performing one or more rinsing steps during use to avoid saturation of the material with dirt, soil, etc., residues. These mops therefore require the use of a separate container to perform the rinsing step(s), and typically these rinsing steps fail to sufficiently remove dirt residues. This may result in redeposition of significant amounts of soil during subsequent passes of the mop. Furthermore, as reusable mops are used over time, they become increasingly soiled and malodorous. This negatively impacts subsequent cleaning.
To alleviate some of the negative attributes associated with reusable mops, attempts have been made to provide mops having disposable cleaning pads. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,094,559, issued Mar. 10, 1992 to Rivera et al., describes a mop that includes a disposable cleaning pad comprising a scrubber layer for removing soil from a soiled surface, a blotter layer to absorb fluid after the cleaning process, and a liquid impervious layer positioned between the scrubber and blotter layer. The pad further contains a rupturable packet means positioned between the scrubber layer and the liquid impervious layer. The rupturable packets are so located such that upon rupture, fluid is directed onto the surface to be cleaned. During the cleaning action with the scrubber layer, the impervious sheet prevents fluid from moving to the absorbent blotter layer. After the cleaning action is completed, the pad is removed from the mop handle and reattached such that the blotter layer contacts the floor. While this device may alleviate the need to use multiple rinsing steps, it does require that the user physically handle the pad and reattach a soiled, damp pad in order to complete the cleaning process.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,419,015, issued May 30, 1995 to Garcia, describes a mop having removable, washable work pads. The pad is described as comprising an upper layer which is capable of attaching to hooks on a mop head, a central layer of synthetic plastic microporous foam, and a lower layer for contacting a surface during the cleaning operation. The lower layer""s composition is stated to depend on the end-use of the device, i.e., washing, polishing or scrubbing. While the reference addresses the problems associated with mops that require rinsing during use, the patent fails to provide a cleaning implement that sufficiently removes the soil that is deposited on typical household hard surfaces, in particular floors, such that the surface is perceived as essentially free of soil. In particular, the synthetic foam described by Garcia for absorbing the cleaning solution has a relatively low absorbent capacity for water and water-based solutions. As such, the user must either use small amounts of cleaning solution so as to remain within the absorbent capacity of the pad, or the user must leave a significant amount of cleaning solution on the surface being cleaned. In either situation, the overall performance of the cleaning pad is not optimal.
While many known devices for cleaning hard surfaces are successful at removing a vast majority of the soil encountered by the typical consumer during the cleaning process, they are inconvenient in that they require one or more cleaning steps. The prior art devices that have addressed the issue of convenience typically do so at the cost of cleaning performance. As such, there remains a need for a device that offers both convenience and beneficial soil removal. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a cleaning implement that eliminates the need to rinse the implement during use. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an implement that comprises a removable cleaning pad with sufficient absorbent capacity, on a gram of absorbed fluid per gram of cleaning pad basis, that allows the cleaning of a large area, such as that of the typical hard surface floor (e.g., 80-100 ft2), without the need to change the pad. It is a further object to provide such a cleaning implement where the pad offers beneficial soil removal properties. Where the cleaning implement of the present invention is used in combination with a cleaning solution, it is a further object to provide a substantially dry end result.
The present invention relates to a cleaning implement comprising:
a. a handle; and
b. a removable cleaning pad comprising:
i. a scrubbing layer; and
ii. an absorbent layer;
wherein the cleaning pad has a t1200 absorbent capacity of at least about 10 g of deionized water per g of the cleaning pad.
Depending on the means used for attaching the cleaning pad to the cleaning implement""s handle, it may be preferable for the cleaning pad to further comprise a distinct attachment layer. In this embodiment, the absorbent layer would be positioned between the scrubbing layer and the attachment layer.
While not limited to wet cleaning applications, the present invention is preferably used in combination with a cleaning solution. That is, while the implement initially exists in a dry state, optimal cleaning performance for typical hard surface cleaning will involve the use of a cleaning fluid that is applied to the soiled surface prior to cleaning with the present implement. During the effort to develop the present cleaning implement, Applicants discovered that a critical aspect of cleaning performance is the ability to use sufficient volumes of cleaning solution to enable solubilization of soil, while at the same time providing sufficient absorbent capacity in a conveniently sized cleaning pad to absorb essentially all of the soil-containing solution. If insufficient levels of solution are used, undesired soil, dirt and the like will remain on the surface. Similarly, if significant levels of cleaning solution (which will contain solubilized soil) remain on the surface after cleaning, undesirable levels of soil will remain on the surface. None of the prior art references describe a convenient cleaning implement that provides sufficient absorbency to achieve the cleaning performance of the present implements without using multiple cleaning pads. The implement of the present invention is designed to be compatible with all hard surface substrates, including wood, vinyl, linoleum, no wax floors, ceramic, FORMICA(copyright), porcelain, glass, wall board, and the like.